The present invention relates to wireless communications systems. In particular, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing hands free communications in a vehicle through any communication device capable of wireless communications.
Wireless telephones, including cellular telephones have become increasingly popular as a means for persons to remain in telephone, data and messaging contact with others, even when away from their home or office. In particular, wireless telephones allow persons traveling in vehicles to place and receive telephone calls, data and messages even while moving at high rates of speed. As wireless telephone technology has advanced, the telephones themselves have become smaller and smaller and more feature rich. In addition, and in particular with the implementation of various digital technologies, the stand-by and talk times provided by battery operated telephones have increased. The decrease in telephone size, the increase in features and the improvements in the battery life of wireless telephones have made the battery-operated wireless telephone an increasingly common communication device.
However, the small size and battery operated configuration of many wireless telephones can be disadvantageous when such telephones are used in automobiles. In particular, the small size of such telephones can make dialing and other operations difficult. In addition, even with advanced battery compositions and power-saving strategies, the batteries of wireless telephones eventually need to be recharged. Finally, the configuration of most wireless telephones requires that they be held to the face of the user in order to use the speaker and microphone that are integral to the telephone.
In order to address some of the disadvantages associated with the use of portable wireless telephones in vehicles, various xe2x80x9ccar kitsxe2x80x9d are known. At a most basic level, these car kits provide an interconnection between the telephone and the electrical system of the vehicle. These simple systems therefore allow the telephone to be powered by the electrical system of the car, and also to charge the telephone""s battery. Other xe2x80x9ccar kitsxe2x80x9d provide a cradle fixed to the interior of the vehicle for holding the telephone, and require that the telephone be lifted from the cradle for use. Other simple xe2x80x9ccar kitsxe2x80x9d combine the interconnection to the vehicle""s electrical system and the cradle for holding the telephone in a single device. However, these basic systems require that the user of the telephone remove at least one hand from the vehicle""s controls in order to operate the telephone, and that the user hold the telephone to his or her face during calls.
At a next level, some conventional xe2x80x9ccar kitsxe2x80x9d provide basic speaker phone functions. These systems provide a microphone and speaker, external to the telephone, and adapted for use at a distance from the user. Therefore, with such a system, a telephone call could be conducted without requiring that the telephone be held to the face of the user. In order to provide a speaker phone capability, the device must generally interface with proprietary electrical contacts provided on the exterior of the telephone. Generally, telephone manufacturers provide electrical contacts for supplying power and for the input and output of audio signals on the exterior of the telephone. Additionally, various contacts for access to and the provision of telephone control signals may also be provided. Through these contacts, it is possible to control various functions of the telephone.
However, adaptors for physically securing the telephone to the interior of the automobile, and for electrically interconnecting the telephone to the automobile and to processors for providing desired functionalities can be expensive. In particular, the cost of providing a hands-free control system in a vehicle to accommodate a number of different wireless telephones can be cost prohibitive because the physical and electrical characteristics of telephones vary by manufacturer and by model.
For the above-stated reasons, it would be advantageous to provide an improved method and apparatus for providing a hands-free wireless communications device in a vehicle. In addition, it would be advantageous to provide a method and apparatus that allows for a single interface module containing many of the components necessary to provide the desired functions that can be used with any of a plurality of pocket devices provided for interfacing with supported telephones. In addition, it would be advantageous to provide such a method and apparatus that i can be implemented at an acceptable cost, that allows the user to easily and economically expand the provided functions, and that is reliable in operation.
In accordance with the present invention, a system for providing hands-free wireless communications is provided. The disclosed system generally includes an interface module, a pocket or cradle and a wireless communications device. In general, the pocket is adapted to interface a particular wireless communications device or family of devices to a common interface module that may be functional with different pocket designs. The pocket and the interface module interact with the wireless communication device to economically provide for the hands-free operation of the wireless communication device.
A pocket in accordance with the present invention is adapted to be mechanically and electrically interconnected to a particular communications device or set of devices. Mechanical features of the pocket include surface features to allow the communications device to be held by the pocket and electrical connectors for mating with various electrical connectors provided with the communications device. Provisions for the electrical interconnection of the pocket and the communications device include, in addition to the above-mentioned electrical contacts, signal lines and processing capabilities. Accordingly, the pocket may provide for the passage of, e.g., radio frequency signals and digital data signals through the pocket without processing by the pocket. In addition, the pocket may include a processor for converting telephone control and other signals between the proprietary interface of the communications device and the application programming interface (API) of the system, allowing the pocket to pass telephone control and other information between the pocket processor and the interface module using a pocket-IM communications bus. Because the physical and electrical characteristics of communications devices such as wireless telephones varies, a pocket may be provided for each unique combination of physical and electrical characteristics found among supported communications devices.
The pocket is also adapted for mechanical and electrical interconnection to the interface module. The mechanical interconnection may include the provision of a common mounting system for joining the pocket and interface module together, including electrical contacts, or simply electrical contacts where the interface module is remotely located from the pocket. Electrical interconnections between the pocket and interface module may also be according to a common standard, and may include signal paths for various signals. At least some of the signals present between the pocket and the interface module may be formatted according to the above-mentioned API. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the interface module may be interconnected to any of a plurality of pockets.
The interface module generally contains a digital signal processor for sending and receiving commands transmitted over the pocket-IM communications bus, and for controlling other functions. For instance, the digital signal processor of the interface module may perform various signal processing functions to remove noise, as well as acoustic echos and line echos, from audio signals passed between the telephone and a speaker, as well as from a microphone to facilitate hands-free communications. The digital signal processor may also serve to interpret voice commands issued by a user concerning control of the system. Other potential functions of the interface module digital signal processor include wireless data processing or forwarding, the storage of voice memoranda, text to speech functions, and for interfacing the system to other communication devices, such as personal information managers (PIMs), GPS receivers, vehicle communications busses, Bluetooth devices, and other devices.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the pocket in part controls access by a user to the functional capabilities of the system. Accordingly, a pocket may interconnect a communications device to an interface module in such a way that power may be supplied to the device, and audio communications passed to and from that device. However, the pocket may not allow for the recording of voice memoranda, even though the interface module may contain the processing, control and storage components necessary to provide that functionality. A second pocket may enable the user to access the voice memorandum recording capability of the interface module. Yet another, third pocket may additionally provide for the storage of voice memoranda in the pocket itself. Accordingly, this third pocket may allow a user to easily take recorded memoranda to, e.g., an interface module type device located in the user""s home or office for playback of the memoranda. Still another pocket, used in combination with a suitable interface module, may enable a text to speech functionality. In this way, the system of the present invention allows a single model of interface module to optionally support a wide variety of communications devices and to provide a wide variety of functions. Therefore, the communications devices supported and the functional capabilities of the system can, at least in part, be determined by the pocket used as part of the system.
The system of the present invention allows a user to change, for example, his or her wireless telephone, while continuing to use the system, even where the physical and electrical characteristics of the new wireless telephone are different from the old, by purchasing a new pocket, while continuing to use the original interface module. In general, a user may gain access to additional capabilities by substituting a pocket enabling or providing a first set of capabilities for a pocket that enables or provides those additional capabilities. In this way, the system of the present invention enables a user to change his or her communications device without having to replace the interface module, and to upgrade the capabilities of the system by obtaining a pocket having the desired additional capabilities.
According to another embodiment of the system of the present invention, various models of interface modules may be available, allowing a user to determine the capabilities of the system at least in part by the interface module chosen. Accordingly certain interface modules may have less capabilities and be offered at a lower price than certain other interface modules that are more recent or that are more expensive but that offer expanded capabilities. Different models of interface modules may also be offered to provide or support new features. The various models of interface modules are preferably compatible, at least in part, with any pocket.
According to one embodiment of the system of the present invention, the system can provide a text to speech function to, for example, provide an audio output of textual data received by the communications device. This capability may be built into the interface module, or may be added to the interface module by the addition of a daughter board containing additional componentry to support the text to speech function.
The system is also capable of handling communications involving separately identifiable vehicle subsystems using processing or server functionalities of the interface module and/or associated daughter board. The vehicle having the vehicle subsystems has a unique IP address to allow communications over the Internet. In communications with the vehicle subsystem, the vehicle IP address is utilized outside the vehicle while, inside the vehicle, the communication can be mapped to, or otherwise associated with, the particular vehicle subsystem involved with the communication.